DII CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Great Midwest Athletic

#32 overall#7 in DIIRR50 −3.4Upper strength −0.510 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

Ohio Valley Football

The G-MAC is a smaller DII conference based in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia — programs like Findlay, Malone, Ohio Valley, Central State (HBCU), and Rio Grande competing in a region that produces football players at a rate disproportionate to its DII enrollment. Central State University in Wilberforce is the conference's most historically significant HBCU member, and their football program carries a cultural weight that the G-MAC's small footprint understates.

Division II10 teamsRace: Super RegionLeader: Findlay

Great Midwest Athletic · 2026 season

Three things to watch

The AnchorFindlay: Northwest Ohio's DII Standard

The University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio has been the G-MAC's most consistent winner — multiple conference titles and Super Region appearances from a private university in northwest Ohio. Their program culture is built on development and retention, keeping players through four years in a system that produces NFL undrafted free agents at a rate that exceeds their recruiting profile.

The Cultural Anchor

Central State: HBCU Football in the G-MAC

Central State University is Ohio's only public HBCU and the G-MAC's most culturally significant program. Their Wilberforce, Ohio campus carries a historical weight that predates the conference by a century. Their football program — rebuilding consistently from a limited recruiting base — represents the HBCU mission of competing with fewer resources while maintaining academic and cultural priorities that scholarship-first programs don't always share.

Wild Card

Malone and the Ohio Pipeline

Malone University in Canton, Ohio — in the shadow of Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Massillon-McKinley rivalry corridor — has access to northeast Ohio football players who choose a Christian liberal arts education over scholarship offers. Their program competes with a specific identity and draws from a recruitment base that the G-MAC's larger programs often overlook. In a good year, Malone challenges for the conference title.

Conference standings · Great Midwest Athletic · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Northwood7-09-0+0.1
2Findlay6-18-1+1.5
3Tiffin5-26-3-1.4
4Hillsdale4-36-3-1.0
5Walsh3-45-4-3.4
6Ohio Dominican3-44-5-4.1
7Ashland3-43-6-0.8
8Lake Erie2-54-5-5.5
9Thomas More2-52-7-7.2
10Kentucky Wesleyan0-70-9-12.4

Conference record determines Super Region seeding. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average.

Projected standings · Great Midwest Athletic · 2026

Win projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. Avg = expected wins; W-L = most-likely record.

# Team W-L Pwr Avg ≥9≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Findlay6-3+4.95.6182652779298✓✓
2Northwood5-4+3.55.2151943698897✓✓
Challengers
3Hillsdale5-4+2.45.114174066869699✓
4Ashland5-4+2.65.04153864859699✓
5Tiffin5-4+2.05.04153764859699✓
The field
6Walsh4-5+0.14.4282348749198✓
7Ohio Dominican4-5−0.74.4172247739198✓
8Lake Erie4-5−2.14.1151739658697✓
Rebuilding
9Thomas More4-5−3.83.73102854799499
10Kentucky Wesleyan2-7−8.92.52722487695

Conference power · Division II

Where we stand

# Conference Avg power Record Top team
1GLIAC
-2.6
4-1Ferris State
2South Atlantic
-3.0
0-1Carson Newman
3Mid America
-3.1
—Northwest Missouri State
4Northern Sun
-3.3
—Minnesota State
5Great Midwest AthleticYou are here
-3.4
—Findlay
6Rocky Mountain
-3.6
—Western Colorado
7Great American
-3.9
—Harding
8Pennsylvania State Athletic
-4.0
0-2Slippery Rock
9Lone Star
-4.1
—Central Washington
10SIAC
-4.3
—Benedict
11CIAA
-4.6
—Virginia State
12Great Lakes
-4.6
2-1Truman State
13Northeast 10
-4.8
1-0Franklin Pierce
14Mountain East
-5.0
4-1Frostburg State
15Carolinas
-5.4
—UNC Pembroke

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = Great Midwest Athletic's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

The G-MAC is a smaller DII conference based in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia — programs like Findlay, Malone, Ohio Valley, Central State (HBCU), and Rio Grande competing in a region that produces football players at a rate disproportionate to its DII enrollment. Central State University in Wilberforce is the conference's most historically significant HBCU member, and their football program carries a cultural weight that the G-MAC's small footprint understates.

Conference Snapshot

RR50−3.4
Upper Strength−0.5
Median Power−2.8
Resume Pulse49.4
Avg ATS--
Wins vs Market+0.00
Top-to-Middle Gap3.9
Combined Record47-43

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

Great Midwest Athletic Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#272 Findlay 8-1 +1.5 81 -- +0.00 4-0 over the last 4 (W6 W7 W8 W9)
#287 Northwood 9-0 +0.1 90 -- +0.00 4-0 over the last 4 (W6 W7 W8 W9)
#302 Ashland 3-6 −0.8 40 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L6 W7 W8 L9)
#304 Hillsdale 6-3 −1.0 76 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W6 L7 L8 W9)
#311 Tiffin 6-3 −1.4 72 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (L6 W7 W8 L9)
#341 Walsh 5-4 −3.4 31 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 W9)
#351 Ohio Dominican 4-5 −4.1 49 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W6 W7 L8 L9)
#377 Lake Erie 4-5 −5.5 45 -- +0.00 2-2 over the last 4 (W6 L7 L8 W9)
#404 Thomas More 2-7 −7.2 9 -- +0.00 1-3 over the last 4 (L6 L7 W8 L9)
#497 Kentucky Wesleyan 0-9 −12.4 1 -- +0.00 0-4 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 L9)